Lakeland Housing Agency's Bruce Lyon Resigns As Chairman of Board

LAKELAND | Six months after installing a new executive director and setting course for smoother seas, the board that oversees Lakeland Housing Authority has found the going bumpy.

By ERIC PERATHE LEDGER

LAKELAND | Six months after installing a new executive director and setting course for smoother seas, the board that oversees Lakeland Housing Authority has found the going bumpy.

Bruce Lyon has tossed in the gavel as chairman of the housing agency's board of commissioners, citing an inability to lead a body cobbled by turnover and lack of vision.

Lyon, president of Swan Development Advisors, is a seasoned expert in urban redevelopment. His expertise in the field of affordable housing made him a natural to lead Polk County's largest housing authority with a budget of approximately $28 million.

Both are disenchanted with turnover — four of the six remaining commissioners have served less than a year — and Ben Stevenson, installed as executive director in May to bring stability and continue to seek ways to increase the city's stock of affordable housing.

Lyon and Copeland say Stevenson needs to be more communicative with his board, and are unhappy over recent events that led two senior administrators to resign.

But after 18 months of service, Lyon said he's lost confidence in the agency that oversees public housing and the federal Section 8 program for much of greater Lakeland.

"I want to see it do well, but quite honestly, I don't know if it's going to get there," he said. "There's just such a level of instability over there."

Lyon was hand-picked by Lakeland Mayor Gow Fields to replenish a board that had stagnated under former Mayor Buddy Fletcher. Fields sought to enforce term limits of no more than two consecutive four-year terms, something Fletcher didn't do.

But less than halfway through his first term, Lyon has bowed out. Copeland said she doesn't want to inherit the job, and is seriously considering quitting the board as well.

"The jury's still out," she said. "I am saddened that he (Lyon) has decided to resign. Bruce brings a lot to the table."

Lyon's departure, which was effective Oct. 15, leaves the housing agency with six commissioners and one vacancy.

The newest member is Dorothy Sanders, a resident of public housing who last week replaced Nita McGee. McGee was charged in August 2011 with grand theft but retained her seat on the board of commissioners until last week when she resigned. McGee, also a public housing resident, is accused of stealing more than $6,000 from the Lakeland Housing Authority Advisory Association while serving as the group's treasurer.

Besides Copeland, who joined the board in May of last year, the most seasoned commissioner is Bernice Evans, appointed in May 2010. Her combative personality and lengthy, probing questions served as a source of frustration for Lyon.

Commissioner Eddie Hall came on board Aug. 21. Richard Richardson joined in May and Michael Pimentel in November. The housing agency and its board are independent of city government, but housing commissioners are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by city commissioners.

Copeland, a retired senior property manager for Covenant Capital Group and other large development firms, is, like Lyon, also unhappy with the housing agency's new executive director, Stevenson. They say he has not been as communicative as he needs to be with the board that hired him.

Copeland is especially miffed over Stevenson's recent handling of a $16,323 pay raise for one of his administrators, Earl Haynes, who worked with Stevenson at the Tampa Housing Authority a number of years ago.

Copeland said she learned of the raise by way of rumor, rather than hearing it from Stevenson, who later called Haynes' salary hike a "reclassification as opposed to a promotion" warranted by taking on extra duties. In addition to his title of director of resident services, Haynes now is special adviser to the executive director.

Copeland remains upset over the incident. "We have to let the E.D. do his job," she said, "but if there's no communication, what do you do?"

Mayor Fields acknowledged that communication between Stevenson and his board is essential, but it's up to board members to find a solution. He said the problem of board turnover is to be expected given the demands of their time and changes in executive directors.

In less than two years the board rescinded the contract of longtime director Herb Hernandez and installed John Calcagni as interim until settling on Stevenson, who has been on the job less than six months.

"That alone is responsible for a lot of the turmoil," Fields said.

Things have improved under Stevenson, he said, especially for tenants, who have seen the housing agency more responsive to roof leaks, repairs and other concerns. "There's been humongous progress."

Copeland and Lyon both have criticized Stevenson for orchestrating events that led to the recent resignations of Calcagni, senior director of housing and development, and the agency's finance director, Chuck Fink.

Both were suspended indefinitely Sept. 5 following a routine federal review that faulted the housing agency's internal policies and procedures related to financial management.

Citing an ongoing investigation into Calcagni's and Fink's actions, Stevenson never fully explained his reasons for the suspensions, which did not sit well with Lyon.

Lyon also was greatly disappointed in a recent strategic planning retreat held Aug. 23 and 24 at the Bank of America building in downtown Lakeland at which only four of the six commissioners attended — Evans, Lyon, McGee and Richardson.

A consultant from Washington, D.C., was flown in as part of the expense, totalling between $10,000 and $15,000, Lyon said, adding, "I don't know if it accomplished anything."

In lamenting the loss of Lyon, Fields said he's doing the best he can to find people capable of overseeing a complicated agency that's been through much change in a short span.

"It's one of the most challenging citizen volunteer appointments that we have," he said." And they do have to mesh well with the other board members."

[ Eric Pera can be reached at eric.pera@theledger.com or 863-802-7528. ]

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